Like many, I sought to read J. R. R. Tolkien’s original book The Hobbit before the release of the films based on it. I had previously read his Lord of the Rings trilogy, so I was already familiar with the world. However, though the world and a few of the characters are the same, The Hobbit manages to be just as unique and charming on its own terms. After all, it was this book that first introduced us to the characters of Bilbo and Gandalf.

While I struggled with reading The Lord of the Rings due to the incredible details presented and the length overall, I had no difficulties reading The Hobbit. Tolkien’s prose is light and enjoyable; I loved the fact that it was told from the point of view of an almost passive narrator, which allowed jokes to be made about what was going on with our characters and allowed smooth transitions between the stories of one party to the next (i.e. explaining the whereabouts of Gandalf, etc.). The scope of the story and the consequences of failure are of course no comparison to Frodo’s later adventures, but the prospect of facing a terrible dragon and trolls and goblins (orcs) and the like is exciting nonetheless.

Though there are too many dwarves (Tolkien’s spelling of the plural of “dwarf”) to keep track of, the author manages to do a fantastic job of separating one from the other by attributing specific qualities to help you remember who is who; for example, Bombur is the fat one, Gloin is Gimli’s father, Thorin is (of course) the leader, and Balin is most fond of Bilbo. I could go on, but the point is that Tolkien makes each dwarf to be his own person with his own endearing qualities, which is no easy task (and something that I hope transfers to the big screen well). Of course, Bilbo Baggins is delightful…one of my favorite characters from either this book or from the following trilogy. He is smart, he is funny, and he is faithful, all qualities that make him entirely lovable. Gandalf the Grey, while playing a smaller role in this book than in that of The Lord of the Rings, is still filled with all the nobility and wisdom that we’ve come to expect from the great wizard.

The adventure is grand, the characters are memorable, and the world that Tolkien has created is fantastic. Though not quite the epic tale presented in The Lord of the Rings, it is still a lot of fun and, truthfully, is much easier to read. The Hobbit is a swell introduction to the world of Middle-earth, setting up the story of the Frodo Baggins and the One Ring wonderfully.

Rating: 5 (out of 5)

-Chad